Latest developments: Trent Van Epps said that Ethereum’s long-term decentralization strategy is entering an important transition phase.
- Van Epps said he left the Ethereum Foundation after it became clear that it would accelerate its “subtraction” philosophy of pushing authority and legitimacy into the broader ecosystem.
- He explained that the Ethereum Foundation is intentionally reducing its central role rather than consolidating its power, and argued that ultimately multiple independent institutions should coordinate the ecosystem.
- The comments come as recent leadership changes and staff cuts at the Ethereum Foundation have heightened questions about Ethereum’s future governance.
- Van Epps joins CoinDesk’s Jennifer Sanasie for market outlook.
What this means: Van Epps argues that Ethereum is facing a real funding challenge, not an existential crisis.
- He estimated that developing the core protocol would require about $30 million per year, even though the Ethereum Foundation’s finances have gradually declined over time.
- According to Van Epps, the problem is not shrinking technology needs, but identifying new organizations willing to fund public goods to keep networks reliable and secure.
- He said that while his Protocol Guild Initiative has distributed nearly $40 million to Ethereum’s core developers over about four years, that is not enough to replace broader ecosystem funding.
